Shuttle changing loom



Nov. 1, 1938. w, ROBERTSON 2,135,146

SHUTTLE CHANGING LOOM Filed April 5, 1935 3 Sheets-Shet 2 PH; a g I Inventor William w. Robertson WJM Nov. 1, 1938.

w.' w. ROBERTSON SHUTTLE CHANGING LOOM Filed April 5, 1935 s Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor Wi H mm W. Robertson.

4mg, Attorneys Patented Nov. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES SHUTTLE CHANGING noon William W. Robertson, Worcester, Mass, assignor to Grompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application Aprils, 1935, Serial No.,14, so5

9 Claims. (01. 139-231) This invention relates to improvements in shuttle changing looms and it is the general object of the invention to prevent the completion of a shuttle changing operation if the active de- 5 pleted shuttle should fail to reachits shuttle box at the shuttle changing side of the loom.

In the type of loom to which my invention more particularly relates weft detecting mechanism is located on that sideof the loom opposite 10 the shuttle changing mechanism and acts upon substantial depletion of weft to initiate change in the shuttles. This change involvesthe stopping of the loom, theejection of the depleted shuttle, the placing of a fresh' reserve shuttle into active position, and restarting the loom. These several operations are accomplished by means of a socalled change shaft having cams which operate in proper sequence to perform the necessary operations. The loom is so controlled that it comes to rest during the replenishing period with the lay in back position. If under these conditions the active shuttle should failto be boxed'on the magazine side the shuttle changing mechanism 'might, unless otherwise controlled, place areserve shuttle in the box so that the protector mechanism would be placed to permit resumption of weaving. A shuttle smash would result due to the fact that the depleted shuttle is still in the shed. It isan important object of my present invention to prevent the shuttle changing mecha-' nism from placing a reserve shuttle in the shuttle box when the active depleted shuttle fails to be correctly boxed. V

Should the active depleted shuttle remain in the shedit is also desirable to prevent restarting of the loom and it is a further object of my invention to provide loom starting mechanism v "whichcan be disabled whenever the activeshut tle failsto reach its shuttle box on the shuttle changing side 10f the loomc i 1 Q Shuttle changing mechanisms of the type to be described hereinafter include a conveyor which receives a reserve shuttle from the magazine and then moves rearwardly to place the shuttle in a shuttle box on the lay. It is a further object of my invention to utilize the movements of the conveyor to complete the control of, the shuttle changing mechanism which is initiated by the protector mechanism. The conveyor may if de- "sired supply the actuating force which disables shuttles which are picked together yet it is to be understood that certain "features are equally applicable, to a loom operating with a single active shuttle, or a loom having several weaving shuttles which are active one at a time. 7 ,7

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention 5 resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims. I I a In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth, 1

whe'n shuttle change is to be arrested due to fail ure of an active shuttle to be correctly boxed,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged rear elevation taken in the direction of arrow 4,,Fig 1-,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged end elevation of part of 25 the structure shown in Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 is a detail horizontal section on line 66 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is an enlarged front elevation looking in the direction of arrow 1, Fig. 3, 30

Fig. 8 is a side elevation looking. in the direction of arrow 8, Fig. 7,

Fig. 9' is a detail vertical section on line '99 of Fig. 7, and 7 Fig. 10 is a detailed plan view of the protector 5 control taken in the direction of arrow l0, Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the loom frame l0 supports a lay ll havingupper and lower shuttle boxes l2 and 13. respectively. These boxes are arranged to receive upper and lower active weav- 40 mg shuttles S and S, respectively, which are picked at the same time, preferably together sov that both shuttles will be at themagazine side of the loom at the same time. Each shuttle box has a binder l;4 to coact with protector fingers l5 to 45 position knock-off daggers I6 in the usual manner. That part of the protector mechanism which actually stops the 'loom upon failure of either shuttle to be boxed has been omitted from the drawings since'such structure is well understood 50 and of itself forms no part of the present invention. During loom operation the lay swings back and fortharound its rocker shaft Win the usual manner, the shuttles being picked as the lay reaches mid-point on its backward stroke. 55

In order that the reserve shuttles may be con-- veyed from the magazine rearwardly toward the lay when the latter is in back position at'rest,

there may be provided a pair of conveyors 25 and 25 cooperating, respectively, with the. front and back magazines. Eachconveyor carries a shuttle receiving shelf 2'! and has a trip -28 to engage the corresponding bobbin support 23.

The conveyors 25 and 26 are mounted on levers 1 36 and 31, respectively, both movable about a fixed looml.carrie d pivot 32. Relatively heavy springs 33 tend to move the conveyors rearwardly toward the lay, such movement being controlled by the cams shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Lever 30 is attached by means of a connector'35 to a cam lever 36' controlled by {cam 31 on the change shaft 38, while the other lever 3| is connected by a rod 39 to a second cam lever 40 controlled by a second cam 4] also on the change shaft.

The lower conveyor has the greater travel because of the location of the associated magazine and its cam 3'! is therefore larger than the cam In the operation of the mechanism thus far described the conveyorswill be normally in the position shown in Fig. 1, and at the beginning of the shuttle changing operation the lay will be brought to rest in the rear position as indicated in that figure. The change shaft 38 will start rotating in the direction of arrow A to move levers 36 and 4B forwardly a slight amount surficient'to move the shuttle supports 23*from the full to the dot and dash line position shown in Fig. 2'. The conveyors will move during this shuttle releasing movement to the dot and dash line positions shown in Fig. 2, after which continued running of the loom will first eject the depleted shuttles in the shuttle boxes during the time that the dwells control the levers 36 and 40. After the active shuttles are ejected. by mechanism not shown but; well understood the cams will present the inclinedsurfacesfifi to controlling position, whereupon the springs 33 will move theconveyors rearwardly to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2, thereby carrying the reserve shuttles previously received from the magazines toward the lay. .The box front 41 will remain raised to permit entry of the fresh shuttles into their respective shuttle boxes.

After thefresh shuttlesare correctlyboxed a cam 48 on the shaft 38 will act to restart the loom and weaving will be resumed in the usual manner. The mechanism thus far described may be of known constructionandexcept for the control exercised by the restarting cam 48 m ay'operate in the usual manner. 1 i A V The description already given .is that which is normal and may properly take place when both active shuttles reach their shuttle boxes so that they may be properly ejected. It'occasionally .happens, however, that one or the other of these active shuttles failsto be .boxedafter the shuttle case the lay would come til restin rear position and fresh shuttles placed into the boxes, thereby moving the protector mechanism to running position to cause a smash. In order to prevent the conveyors from placing shuttles in the shuttle boxes unless the latter has received the depleted shuttles I provide mechanism operable preferably through the protector fingers to arrest movements of the conveyors.

As shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 10, the lower dagger corresponding to the lower shuttle box.l3 has movable therewith a depressing finger 50 which overhangs a plate 5! movable about a fixed pivot 52. The upper dagger 'also has a depressing finger 53 in position to engage the plate 5|. The latter may be inclined downwardly and forwardly as at 54 so as not to interfere with the normal operation of the protector mechanism as the latter approaches forward position.

The plate 5| has an arm 55 movable therewith and operative through a'nut 56 to hold a transmitting rod 51 rearwardly whenever plate 5| is held depressed by either .of the fingers 55 or 53. The rod 51 is surrounded by a light spring 58 bearing against the lower .part of arm 55 and providing'a yielding connection between the arm Y55 and the rod 51.

The'rod 51 extends forwardly and is pivotally connected .to a leverv arm 58 fastened to a short shaft 59 extending through and supported by a hook arm 60. The latter is pivoted as at 6| to a stand 62 supported by the end frame 20. The outer end of shaft 59. has fastened thereto a hook 63 having a head 64 of sufficient breadth to engage two opposing lugs '65, one on each of theconveyor levers 30 and 3|. The arm 66 carries a stop screw 66 to limit movement of arm 58 relatively to the arm 66 in a left hand direction as viewed in Fig. 5. The hook 63 is provided with a cam lug ,6! having a surface 68 which is preferably concentric with the axis 32 when the hook is in normal position and a rear surface 69 to effect resetting.

In the operation of that part of the invention already described the plate 5| and hook 63.will normally be in the position shown in Fig. 1-, and so long as the active shuttlesare properly boxed.

the depressing fingers 50 and 53 will be held elevated. .If, however, either of the active shuttles fails to be correctly boxed, following the initiation of a shuttle changing operation the correspond- .ingprotector? finger will assume the in or stopping position with resultant lowering of the associated depressing finger. The plate 5l will therefore .be held down to cause the dependingarm 55 to remain in right hand position. During the short relatively light spring 'H'which is weak enough to be overpowered by the depressing fingers 50 and 53. 7

As the conveyor levers start their rearward movement the lug 10 will reach the end of cam face before the lugs reach the hook head, thereby permitting upward movement of the hook during a normal shuttle changing beat to clear lugs 65. With the hook down, however, it will ,be engaged by the lugs -65 and moved from the "full to the dotted line position'shown in Fig. 3, thereby rocking hook-arm 60 to the right as viewed in Fig. 5. This relation of parts is reached left. hand direction as viewed in Fig. '1.- 10;

when the conveyors in' their rearward movement assume the position indicated'in dotted lines in Fig.3. Further rearward movement of the hook and therefore the conveyorsis prevented by enrest until the weaver can take from the shed the active shuttle which was not properly boxedr In order to accomplish this result I provide means for preventing restarting of the 100m. The cam 48 coacts with lever movable about a fixed pivot 8| and having an upstanding finger 82 to which is attacheda tension spring 83. The latteris connected to the bottom of a bar 84 having a slot 85 to receive a pin 86 carried by arm 81 of the lever'80. The slot and spring provide a giveway connection between the cam and the bar 84. i

The upper end of bar 84 has a shoulder" 88 lying under a web 89 of a yoke 90 through which the upper end 9| of thebar passes. The yoke guides the bar and is of sufiicient width to permit said bar to move far enough to the right from the position shown in Fig. 9 so that the shoulder 88 will beout of vertical alignment with the web 89. a

The'yoke has a hub 92 fastened to a'restarting shaft 93 journaled in bearings 94 and 95, respeotively, carried by the loom frame. A restarting arm 96 secured to the shaft 93 is attached to an upwardly extending rod 9Twhich when 'elevated acts through a shipper 98 to restartthe loom.

The restarting operationis operated by the cam 48 and if the transfer has been normal the cam, turning in the direction-of arrow B, Fig. 3, will rock the lever 80in a clockwise direction around the axis 8l, causing the spring 83 to elevate the bar 84 to effect rocking of .the web 89 and hub 92 by a force transmitted through the shoulder 88. This results in rocking of the shaft 93 which by the connection shown at the right hand side of Fig. 1 moves the shipper 98 to restart the loom.

Should the shuttle changing operation be interrupted as already described, I provide mechanism to prevent rocking of shaft 93. This result is accomplished by a rod I00 pivoted to the upper end of hook arm 68, see Fig. 3,and having the forward end thereof slotted as at IM to receive a reduced upper end 9| of the bar 84, see Fig. 8. The spring 83 normally holds the shoulder 88 in operative position as shown in Fig. 9 but when the conveyors in the first part of their rearward movement move the hook rearwardly, the attendant rocking of arm 60 will move the rod I09 rearwardly from the full to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3. Operation of the lever 89 by the cam at the conclusion of the shuttle changing period will therefore result in an idle upward movement of bar 84 and the shaft 93'will remain at rest to prevent the loom from restarting.

During a normal transfer when the conveyor levers 30 and 3| move .to their full rearward position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 the hook will be raised by spring H by an'amount' limited by the stop screw 66. As the conveyor levers move forwardly at the conclusion of' the shuttle inserting operation the lug "ID will move against thecam face 69 and-depress the hook so that the latter will be normallyin the path of the, lug 65.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple control for the shuttle changing mechanism wherein failure of an active shuttle to reach its shuttle box on the magazine side of the loom is effective to prevent rearward' move- -ment of the conveyors toward the lay. It will 1 also be" seen that inability of the conveyors to -move rearwardly beyond the dotted position shown in Fig. 3 results in'disabling the restarting mechanism and although the change shaft completes its rotation, there is nevertheless noopportunity for itto' rock the shaft 93 and restart the loom if the shuttle changing operation has been-interrupted. T

' Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in theart without-departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to'the details herein disclosed. but what I claim is: 1

1. In a shuttlechanging loom which comes to rest withfthe lay in rear position, during 'the shuttle changing period, a pair of shuttlefboxes stationary-on the lay, a protectorfingerforeach shuttle box, each finger movable to stopping position when the corresponding box is unoccupied by a shuttle, means to expel depleted shuttles from thelshuttle boxes,'two shuttle changing mechanisms each effective to convey a reserve shuttle to one'of the shuttle boxes duringthe shuttle changing period after the depleted shuttles are expelled from the shuttle boxes,preventer means normally placed to prevent'operation of both' the shuttle'changing mechanisms, and control connections between the' protector fingers and the preventer means to render the latter operative to prevent operation of both shuttle changing mechanisms when either protector finger i's inj stopping position'at the beginning of a shuttle changing operation.

2. In a shuttle changing loom having a lay with a shuttle box stationary thereon to receive a depleted shuttle and later receive a reserve shuttle during the shuttle changing period, protector mechanism to be positioned by a depleted shuttle in the shuttle box, means to expel a depleted shuttle from the shuttle box, shuttle changing mechanism to place a reserve shuttle intothe box, a controller for the shuttle changing mechanism capable of preventing operation of the latter, and

means interposed between the protector mechanism and the controller mechanism effective to move the latter by a force derived from the protector mechanism into position to prevent operation of the shuttle changing mechanism.

3. In a shuttle changing loom having a lay with a shuttle box stationary thereon to receive a depleted shuttle and thereafter receive a reserve shuttle during the shuttle changing period, a protector finger to be moved by the depleted shuttle, a shuttle changer normally operative to place a reserve shuttle into the shuttle box during the shuttle changing period, a preventer to arrest operation of the shuttle changer, and control connections between the protector finger and the preventer means to effect positioning of the latter to arrest operation of the shuttle changer by a force derived from the protector finger when the shuttle box .is unoccupied by a depleted shuttle.

4; In a'shuttle changing loom having a lay :With ashuttle box stationary thereon to receive- "a'depleted shuttle and thereafter receive a reserve shuttle during the shuttle changing period, a protector finger movable to stopping position when the depleted shuttle fails to reach the shuttle box and movable to running position when the depleted shuttle enters the shuttle box, a shuttle changer to place a reserve shuttle into the shuttle box, and acontroller for the shuttle changer movable into position to prevent operation thereof by the protector finger. when the ,latter moves to stopping position due to nonarrival of the depleted shuttle inthe shuttle box. 5. In a shuttle changing loom having a shuttle 'bOX'tO receive a depleted shuttle, and thereafter receive a reserve shuttle during the shuttle changing periocL-a protector finger movable to stopping position when the depleted shuttle fails to reach the shuttle box and movable to running position when the depleted shuttle enters the shuttle box, a conveyor to move a reserve shuttle toward the shuttle box, a lock for the conveyor, and connections between the protector'finger and lock effective by a force derived from the protector finger when the latter moves to stopping position due to non-arrival of the depleted shut- --t1e in the shuttle box to move the look into position to arrest movement of the conveyor.

6. In a shuttle changing loom which is at rest during the shuttle changing period, a lay to be stationary in rearward position during the shut- -tle changing period, a pair of shuttle boxes at one end of the lay, a protector finger for each shuttle box movable to stopping position when the corresponding shuttle box is unoccupied by a shuttle, a pair of shuttle conveyor mechanisms both operative at the same time to place a reserve shuttle in each shuttle box, and. means con- 1 trolled by the protector fingers to prevent operation of both shuttle conveyor mechanisms when either protector finger is in stopping position at the beginning of a shuttle changing period.

'7. In a shuttle changing loom having a lay which is atrest'during the shuttle changing period, a pair of shuttle boxes at one end of the lay,

. a protector fingerfor each box, each finger movable to stopping; position when the corresponding shuttle box is unoccupied, conveyor means to convey two reserveshuttles tothe lay, one for each shuttle box,'during the shuttle changing period, and means controlled by the'protector fingers and operative when either protector finger is in stopping position at the beginning of the shuttle changing period to prevent operation of the conveyor. means.

8. In a shuttle changing loom which is at rest during the shuttle changing period, a pair of shuttle boxes at one end of the lay, a protector gers and effective when either finger is in stopa ping position at the beginning of the shuttle changing period to prevent operation of both conveyors. V

' 9. In a shuttle changing loom, which is at rest during the shuttle changing period, a pair of shuttle boxes at one end of the lay, a protector finger for each shuttle box, each finger movable to stopping position when the corresponding box is unoccupied by a shuttle, two separate shuttle .conveyor mechanisms each efiective to move a reserve shuttle into a shuttle box, means normally operative to cause both of said mechanisms to operate together, and control means for the shuttle conveyor mechanism operatively related to the protector fingers and effective when either protector finger is in stopping position at the beginning of ashuttle changingperiod' to prevent, operation of both shuttle conveyor mechanisms.

WILLIAM W. ROBERTSON.

15 finger for each shuttlebox, each finger movable 

